Renault would like to end its commitment with Red Bull at the end of the 2018 season

The trend is known: Renault will partner with McLaren starting from the next world championship season.

But the brand with the diamond goes further. According to sources from the Daily Mail, the Red Bull-Renault partnership will not extend beyond the current contract, ending after the 2018 season.

With eight driver and constructor titles accumulated between 2010 and 2013, the Red Bull-Renault pair has since faced many difficulties, marked by the advent of the turbo era at the beginning of 2014. The delicate reliability of the French power unit has been noteworthy, particularly during the 2015 season. It should be remembered that in /f1/actualite/22261-porsche-envisage-la-f1-a-lhorizon-2021.html, three retirements were also recorded with the Red Bull engine, rebranded as Tag Heuer. But it is indeed Renault here considering the separation.

The consequences to anticipate

As brutal as it may be, such a divorce would affect the balance of the transfer market in 2018.

Daniel Ricciardo recently threatened Red Bull to leave at the end of his contract, precisely at the end of the next season, if his team was not capable of competing for the title. An end to the romance won’t help matters…

In the longer term, another recent piece of information would also suggest a takeover of Red Bull by the Porsche brand, for the 2021 horizon. This leaves two seasons to fill for Christian Horner’s team. And here, the Honda hypothesis is gradually gaining ground, given the new association with Toro Rosso.

In the meantime, the imminent news is packed. We are still waiting for the official announcement of the McLaren-Renault partnership. According to the same sources, McLaren plans a major announcement this Saturday, after the Qualifications. The upcoming question will be whether Fernando Alonso, expected at the press conference that day, will announce some exciting news.

McLaren, Honda, Renault, Toro Rosso and Red Bull will all face the press on Thursday ahead of the #SingaporeGP ⬇️ https://t.co/cKIkQJICw6

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 13